Fantasy Football Mock Draft: 12-team Superflex Dynasty Startup — here are the results

Yahoo Fantasy staff members joined forces with some of the top analysts from around the fantasy football industry to take part in a 12-team, 12-round dynasty startup mock draft.

The scoring format for this mock is Superflex and PPR (point per reception) with the following roster spots: QB, RB, RB, WR, WR, WR, TE, SUPERFLEX, FLEX, BN, BN, BN.

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While most dynasty startups are much longer than this, the goal here was to give managers some guidance on setting a foundation to build their teams. Once you’re past the 12th round or so, you can worry less about ADPs and focus more on getting the players you want to roster.

A big thank you goes out to everyone who participated:

• Ray Garvin, Yahoo Fantasy

• Dwain McFarland, Fantasy Life

• Justin Boone, Yahoo Fantasy

• Danny Kelly, The Ringer

• Matt Harmon, Yahoo Fantasy

• Scott Connor, Destination Devy

• Andrew Cooper, Fantasy Alarm

• Ryan McDowell, Dynasty League Football

• Scott Belanger, The Undroppables

• Chad Parsons, Football Guys

• John Daigle, Establish The Run

• Pat Fitzmaurice, Fantasy Pros

Round 1

There’s very little to discuss after the opening round. While you can make a case for Jahmyr Gibbs or CeeDee Lamb going in the top 12, it’s hard to argue with any of the names taken here.

My Pick: Since this is a superflex format, drafting third overall allowed me to scoop up whichever elite quarterback didn’t get taken in the first two picks. In this case, it was Jackson, who has averaged over 20 fantasy points per game for seven straight seasons and led all QBs with 25.6 fppg in 2025.

Round 2

Another chalky round where the obvious names go off the board based on ADP. Three sophomore QBs are selected in this range with Team Fitzmaurice taking Maye ahead of Williams and Nix. Maye showed a high floor and an intriguing ceiling after taking over as the Patriots starter in Week 6 and the hype coming out of training camp is only adding to fantasy managers enthusiasm. If that continues, Maye will almost certainly be a first-round pick in dynasty drafts a year from now.

My Pick: Building around a group of young receivers is normally my approach in dynasty startups, so getting London is ideal in this spot. The 24-year-old is coming off a breakout campaign where he finished fifth among PPR fantasy wideouts behind only Chase, Jefferson, St. Brown, and Thomas. When the Falcons turned to a rookie in Michael Penix Jr. over the final three games, London was tied for the most points per contest among WRs (23.1 fppg) during that span.

Round 3

What a young core the Chargers have with McConkey, Herbert and Hampton, who all went within seven picks at the Round 2-3 turn. If Hampton hits the ground running the way I project he will as a rookie, he’s another player who could quickly vault himself up into the first round of 2026 dynasty startups. That’s one of the reasons why he’s my unquestioned 1.02 in dynasty rookie drafts this year.

My Pick: Herbert is a late second-round value, according to ADP. Getting the 27-year-old passer as my Superflex feels like an edge few teams will be able to match. My only concern is that mock drafts involving analysts tend to result in non-elite quarterbacks falling, so I might regret this move if there are better QB values later on.

Round 4

Though they may have gone slightly higher than their ADP, young quarterbacks (J.J. McCarthy, Brock Purdy, Jordan Love) are quality picks in this range. All three should have long NFL careers with a chance to post top-12 fantasy QB stats in any given season.

My Pick: I had to throw away my normal plan to take quarterbacks and young receivers early when Irving fell 15 spots later than his usual ADP. Irving, who turns 23 in August, was the PPR RB10 in fppg from Week 6 on last season once he moved into the lead-back role for the Buccaneers.

Round 5

Through five rounds the majority of the league has secured their second quarterback with only three managers continuing to wait on the position. There are still a few intriguing passers available like Bryce Young, Justin Fields and Geno Smith — so don’t feel the pressure to take a QB in the early rounds.

My Pick: This was the first pick where I wasn’t thrilled with many of the options on the board and instead took a player who was under 25 and represented a value against ADP. Hall was someone I wrote about earlier this summer because it’s difficult to pinpoint his outlook for 2025. He’s still young and has proven to be a productive back when healthy, including top-10 fantasy numbers over his first seven games before suffering an ACL tear, RB6 results on a per-game basis in 2023 and a strong finish last season as the second-highest scoring ball carrier over the final month. He still feels like a risky choice here.

Round 6

The league seems fairly balanced so far, which isn’t surprising considering these are some of the best dynasty analysts in the industry. We have a variety of builds on the go as well, which should provide a nice range of blueprints for how to attack a dynasty startup. But I will admit, my favorite teams up to this point are the rosters that locked down three receivers in the first four rounds (Team Connor, Team Cooper, Team Belanger).

My Pick: Cook’s long-term outlook is up in the air, since it doesn’t seem like the Bills are interested in giving him a contract extension. That adds an element of uncertainty to his dynasty profile, but it was hard to pass on last year’s RB11 in fppg as the RB17 in this draft — 18 spots lower than his ADP. It’s clear now that my build will be ready to compete immediately, which informs the rest of my picks moving forward.

Round 7

After doing an outstanding job of building out his QB and WR depth charts, Team Connor finally takes his first RB in this round and it’s a controversial one. Judkins’ off-field situation has brought a level of uncertainty to his dynasty outlook, but this is the kind of risk that can swing the balance of a league if the 21-year-old gets his career back on track.

My Pick: Metcalf was my target here, but Team McFarland sniped him one pick before me. Thankfully, it was an easy pivot to Moore who is still the Bears’ No. 1 receiver for the time being. The 28-year-old appears to be losing the faith of many fantasy managers after a disappointing 2025 campaign for the entire Bears’ offense, but he’s just one season removed from finishing as the WR10 in fppg and now has the benefit of an upgraded coaching staff and offensive line in Chicago. Overall, the Bears’ offense should be better this season, even if it takes a little time to get comfortable in Ben Johnson’s system.

Round 8

Team Belanger has a very solid build going, with three high-end receivers, a promising young QB, a top-4 tight end, a RB who has yet to reach his ceiling, a temporary second QB who can provide top-12 production, and now filled out his second RB slot with the ageless Derrick Henry. That’s about as strong of a starting lineup as you can put together from the back half of the first round.

My Pick: Even though this is a mock draft, it didn’t stop me from messaging Team Harmon when he drafted Downs two spots ahead of me. The funny part is that he was debating between Downs and Reed, the latter of whom I took when I was on the clock. Both wideouts have top-20 fantasy WR upside, which they’ve flashed at times - just not consistently enough. Team Harmon and I are investing in them fulfilling that potential in the near future.

Round 9

Team Parsons slow-played his QB2 spot and ended up with a very solid veteran option in Smith. While some managers might be worried about the change of scenery going to Las Vegas, I’m not one of them. Smith showed he can sneak into the low-end QB1 ranks when he finished the 2022 season as the QB10 in fppg. With the Raiders, he’ll be surrounded by young talent in an uptempo Chip Kelly system. It was a gamble to wait this long, but it paid off for Team Parsons.

My Pick: Jayden Higgins has drawn very positive reviews so far from the Texans’ offseason program and the early portion of training camp. He also helps inject my receiving corps with some more youth, to hopefully take over when Moore begins to decline. Higgins can settle in as my current WR4 and eventually step into my starting lineup when he earns a prominent role next to Nico Collins in Houston.

Round 10

If you’re in search of a plug-and-play running back for the 2025 season, this might be the last round to find one before we get into some of the more riskier profiles. The veterans like Pollard, Mixon, Pacheco and Conner can all deliver as RB2s with RB1 upside this season, which is another reason why it’s smart to go QB and WR early, then backfill with RBs who can get you through a year or two.

My Pick: I played a dangerous game by thinking Kraft or Kincaid would fall one more round to me in the 10th. When that didn’t occur, I chose to pair a productive veteran in Andrews with his real life QB Jackson. Though Andrews missed time last year, he still finished tied for fourth among fantasy tight ends on per game basis — averaging 13.5 fppg. Offseason rumors of a possible trade never materialized, so he’s back to fill a similar role in the Ravens’ offense. I’ll have to find an eventual replacement, but there are lots of interesting rookie tight ends to stash later in a startup.

Round 11

Like I mentioned in the last round, the RBs with guaranteed production have almost dried up at this point. However, that doesn’t mean there aren’t still ball carriers to roll the dice on. Spears, Benson, Skattebo and Charbonnet all have the talent to be fantasy difference-makers if they get the opportunity to start. Skattebo might be closing in on that scenario sooner than anyone, if he can overtake Tyrone Tracy in training camp.

My Pick: I got in on the running back party in this round by grabbing Benson, who I believe will be the Cardinals' starter once the 30-year-old Conner phases out. It will likely take an injury for that to take place this season, so this pick is more about getting a high-end backup with a path to starting in 2026.

Round 12

Once you get to this area of the draft, you see managers lean into running backs. That’s because a lot of the running backs taken here either have a chance to have a sizable role in their offenses or they’re one injury away from being a workhorse. Trying to hit on receivers from this point on in a startup is a much more difficult proposition.

My Pick: Similar to my last pick, Mason offers value as a high-end backup and potential flex play while sharing the Vikings' backfield with Aaron Jones this season. But taking over as Minnesota’s starter is well within his range of outcomes, especially if Jones — who turns 31 in December — begins to break down.

Rounds 13 and beyond

As I mentioned at the top, most dynasty leagues have deep benches that extend far beyond this point. However, when you go further into a dynasty startup draft, you don’t need to be as rigid with your approach. Instead, you should be continuing whatever build you set in motion and drafting players you believe in who fit that mold.